Indian captain MS Dhoni’s brand value has taken a dip as the team’s poor form continues with a 2-1 Test series defeat against England.

At a time when the calls for Dhoni’s head as the captain are growing louder, the corporate world too is playing it safe by gradually distancing itself from the star cricketer whose popularity – both as captain and player – of late has taken a beating.

According to a report in The Economic Times, only 22 advertisers used the Indian captain’s commercials during the period of January to November earlier this year, reducing from 27 in 2011.

Also, the numbers of brands endorsed by Dhoni too have declined from 43 to 28.

The report by Ratna Bhushan & Vijaya Rathore further cites industry experts as saying that ‘Captain Cool’ might see his brand value dip by 30 % if he loses his captaincy after India‘s recent series defeat to England.

But brand Dhoni has received backing from few quarters. Arun Pandey, promoter of talent management firm Rhiti Sports argues that the number of brands have gone down as some brands cannot afford Dhoni.

He said, “Some brands could not afford Dhoni, while for others he became bigger than the brand themselves. So brands like Dainik Bhaskar and Cello fell out of the list.”

“But we cannot partner with everyone as Dhoni’s schedule is very tight,” added Pandey.

A spokesperson of leading beverages company Pepsi-Co was quoted by the newspaper as saying, “We are proud of MSD, his achievements and his stature as a youth icon and have invested in a longterm partnership with him,” a PepsiCo spokesperson said.

First Published on December 19, 2012, 3:31 pmLast updated on December 19, 2012, 3:31 pm